FL Water Use_2010 USGS

7/24/2019 FL Water Use_2010 USGS

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Prepared in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Water Withdrawals, Use, and Trends in Florida, 2010

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 20145088


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Graphic on the front cover depicts 2010 freshwater use (top right),saline water use (center), and total water use (bottom left) by county.


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By Richard L. Marella

Prepared in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Scientific Investigations Report 20145088

U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological Survey


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U.S. Department of the InteriorSALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological SurveySuzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2014

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as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

Marella, R.L., 2014, Water withdrawals, use, and trends in Florida, 2010: U.S. Geological Survey

Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5088, 59 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20145088.

ISSN 2328-0328 (online)
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iii

Contents

Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2

Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................2

Previous Investigations........................................................................................................................3

Data Sources and Limitations .............................................................................................................3

Water Withdrawals and Use .......................................................................................................................8

Water Source and Use by Category ..................................................................................................9

Public Supply ..............................................................................................................................11

Domestic Self-Supplied ............................................................................................................24

Commercial-Industrial-Mining Self-Supplied .......................................................................27

Agricultural Self-Supplied (Irrigation and Nonirrigation) ...................................................30

Recreational-Landscape Irrigation .........................................................................................34

Power Generation ......................................................................................................................38

Water Source and Use by Water Management District ..............................................................39

Water Withdrawal and Use Trends, 19502010 ......................................................................................43

Selected References ...................................................................................................................................50

Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................55

Figures

1. Graph showing historical and projected population of Florida, 19502030 ................................2

2. Map showing counties and water management districts in Florida ...........................................4

3. Pie chart showing total water withdrawals in Florida by source, 2010 ......................................8

4. Pie charts showing freshwater withdrawals in Florida by category and

water source, 2010 .....................................................................................................................10

5. Graph showing monthly freshwater withdrawals by selected categories in

Florida, 2010 .................................................................................................................................11

6. Map showing approximate areal extent throughout which principal aquifers

in Florida are the primary source of groundwater, and quantity of

groundwater withdrawals, 2010 ...............................................................................................14

7. Map showing general location of hydrologic units in Florida and fresh

groundwater and surface-water withdrawals within these units, 2010 ................ ............15

8. Pie chart showing public-supply water-use deliveries in Florida, 2010 ....................................209. Graph showing historical public-supply gross and domestic per capita

water use in Florida, 19502010 ................................................................................................20

10. Graph showing historical public-supply freshwater withdrawals in Florida

by source, 19502010 .................................................................................................................21

11. Graph showing historical domestic self-supplied groundwater withdrawals

in Florida, 19502010 ...................................................................................................................26

12. Pie chart showing commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied freshwater use

in Florida by major industrial type, 2010 ..................................................................................27

13. Graph showing historical commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied

freshwater withdrawals in Florida by source, 19502010 ....................................................30


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14. Graph showing agricultural acres and acres irrigated in Florida by

selected crop type, 2007 and 2010 ...........................................................................................31

15. Graph showing historical agricultural self-supplied freshwater withdrawals

in Florida by source, 19502010 ................................................................................................3116. Graph showing historical agricultural acreage in Florida for

selected crops, 19702010 ........................................................................................................34

17. Graph showing historical agricultural acreage irrigated in Florida

by irrigation system type, 19802010 .......................................................................................34

18. Graph showing historical recreational-landscape irrigation freshwater

withdrawals in Florida by source, 19852010 .........................................................................35

19. Graph showing historical power-generation water withdrawals in Florida

by source, 19502010 .................................................................................................................38

20. Graph showing total population and population served by public supply in

Florida by water management district, 2010 ..........................................................................39

21. Pie chart showing freshwater withdrawals in Florida by

water management district, 2010 .............................................................................................3922. Graph showing freshwater and saline-water withdrawals in Florida by

water management district, 2010 .............................................................................................39

23. Graph showing historical freshwater withdrawals in Florida by

water management district, 19752010 ...................................................................................43

24. Graphs showing historical freshwater withdrawals by water-use

category in Florida by water management district, 19752010 ................ ................. ..........44

25. Graph showing historical public-supply gross per capita water use

in Florida by water management district, 19752010 ............................................................44

26. Graph showing freshwater withdrawals for agricultural self-supplied and

public supply with statewide average annual rainfall in Florida, 19802010 ............... .....45

27. Graph showing historical public-supply annual withdrawals in Florida, 19752010 ..............45

28. Graph showing historical total population, freshwater, and saline-water

withdrawals in Florida, 19502010 ...........................................................................................46

29. Graph showing historical freshwater withdrawals in Florida by source, 19502010 .............46

30. Graph showing historical freshwater withdrawals in Florida by selected

water-use category, 19752010 ................................................................................................50

Tables

1. Total water withdrawals in Florida by category, 2010 ....................................................................9

2. Total water withdrawals in Florida by county, 2010 ......................................................................12

3. Total groundwater withdrawals by principal aquifer in Florida by county, 2010 .....................164. Public-supply population, water use, withdrawals, transfers, and treated water

in Florida by county, 2010...........................................................................................................18

5. Estimated public-supply water use (deliveries), and per capita use

in Florida by county, 2010...........................................................................................................22

6. Domestic self-supplied population and water withdrawals in Florida

by county, 2010 ............................................................................................................................24

7. Commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied water withdrawals in Florida

by county, 2010 ............................................................................................................................28

8. Agricultural self-supplied water withdrawals in Florida by county, 2010 .................................32


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9. Recreational-landscape irrigation water withdrawals in Florida

by county, 2010 ............................................................................................................................36

10. Power generation water withdrawals in Florida by county, 2010 ..............................................40

11. Water withdrawals by category in Florida by water management district, 2010 ....................4212. Historical population and water withdrawals by water source

in Florida, 19502010 ...................................................................................................................47

13. Historical freshwater withdrawals in Florida by category, 19702010 ......................................48

Conversion Factors

Inch/Pound to SI

Multiply By To obtain

Length

inch (in.) 2.54 centimeter (cm)inch (in.) 25.4 millimeter (mm)

mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer (km)

Area

acre 4,047 square meter (m2)

acre 0.4047 hectare (ha)

acre 0.4047 square hectometer (hm2)

acre 0.004047 square kilometer (km2)

square mile (mi2) 259.0 hectare (ha)

square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer (km2)

Flow rate

gallon per day (gal/d) 0.003785 cubic meter per day (m3/d)

million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 0.04381 cubic meter per second (m3/s)

Energy

gigawatt-hour (GWh) 2.77810-13 joule (J)


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Abbreviations

AFSIRS Agricultural Field Scale Irrigation Requirements Simulation

ASREIA

ET

FDACS

FDEP

IFAS

JEA

NASS

NRCS

aquifer storage and recoveryEnergy Information Administration

evapotranspiration

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Institute of Food and AgriculturalSciences

Jacksonville Electric Authority

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly the Soil Conservation Service)

NWFWMD Northwest Florida Water Management District

MOR monthly operating report

SFWMD South Florida Water Management District

SJRWMD St. Johns River Water Management District

SRWMD Suwannee River Water Management District

SWFWMD Southwest Florida Water Management District

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

WMD Water Management District


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Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP),Office of Water Policy, for its cooperation in the State Water-Use Program, and extends aspecial thanks to the following individuals who provided program support or data and technicalassistance: Janet Llewellyn and Carolyn Voyles (Tallahassee), as well as the many individualsin the Drinking Water Program from FDEP district offices in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Orlando,Pensacola, Tampa, and West Palm Beach. Other State of Florida agencies that contributed assis-tance or data include the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer ServicesOffice ofAgricultural Water Policy and the Florida Department of Health, County Environmental Offices.

Special appreciation is extended to the Executive Directors of the five Florida water manage-ment districts for their participation and staff cooperation in providing water-use data: North-west Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD), St. Johns River Water ManagementDistrict (SJRWMD), South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), Southwest FloridaWater Management District (SWFWMD), and the Suwannee River Water Management District(SRWMD). The participation of the following individuals is acknowledged for their data-collec-tion and tabulation efforts or for their technical input and support: Leigh Brooks, Kenneth Busen,Angela Chelette, Kathleen Coates, and Lauren Connell at NWFWMD in Havana; Bruce Florenceand Tammy Bader at SJRWMD in Palatka; Cynthia Gefvert, Ian R. Miller, Donna Rickabus, ChrisSweazy, and Robert Verrastro, at SFWMD in Orlando and West Palm Beach; Christina Jacksonat SWFWMD in Brooksville; Clay Coarsey, Dale Jenkins, and Kevin Wright at SRWMD in LiveOak.

Appreciation is also extended to the many utility operators, plant managers, and individuals

who provided data vital to the completion of this report. These contributors include staff fromthe following companies and government agencies: Florida Power and Light Company (RonaldHix), Gainesville Regional Utilities, Gulf Power Company (a Southern Company), JacksonvilleElectric Authority, Lakeland Electric and Water, Miami-Dade County Water and Sewer Depart-ment, Orlando Utilities Commission, Progress Energy (currently Duke Energy), Seminole ElectricCooperative, Tampa Bay Water, Tampa Electric Company, City of Tallahassee, and many otherswho provided data and technical guidance.

The author would also like to acknowledge Mike Deacon, Ron Spencer, and Joann Dixon of theUSGS in Davie, Lutz, and Orlando, respectively, for there assistance in the review and prepara-tion of this document for publication.


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By Richard L. Marella

Abstract

In 2010, the total amount of water withdrawn in Florida

was estimated to be 14,988 million gallons per day (Mgal/d).

Saline water accounted for 8,589 Mgal/d (57 percent) and

freshwater accounted for 6,399 Mgal/d (43 percent). Ground-

water accounted for 4,166 Mgal/d (65 percent) of freshwater

withdrawals, and surface water accounted for the remaining

2,233 Mgal/d (35 percent). Surface water accounted for nearly

all (99.9 percent) saline-water withdrawals. An additional

659 Mgal/d of reclaimed wastewater was used in Florida

during 2010. Freshwater withdrawals were greatest in Palm

Beach County (707 Mgal/d), and saline-water withdrawals

were greatest in Hillsborough County (1,715 Mgal/d).

Fresh groundwater provided drinking water (public

supplied and self-supplied) for 17.33 million people(92 percent of Floridas population), and fresh surface water

provided drinking water for 1.47 million people (8 percent).

The statewide public-supply gross per capita use for 2010

was 134 gallons per day, whereas the statewide public-supply

domestic per capita use was 85 gallons per day. The majority

of groundwater withdrawals (almost 62 percent) in 2010 were

obtained from the Floridan aquifer system, which is present

throughout most of the State. The majority of fresh surface-

water withdrawals (56 percent) came from the southern

Florida hydrologic unit subregion and is associated with Lake

Okeechobee and the canals in the Everglades Agricultural

Area of Glades, Hendry, and Palm Beach Counties, as well asthe Caloosahatchee River and its tributaries in the agricultural

areas of Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties.

Overall, agricultural irrigation accounted for 40 percent

of the total freshwater withdrawals (ground and surface),

followed by public supply with 35 percent. Public supply

accounted for 48 percent of groundwater withdrawals, fol-

lowed by agricultural self-supplied (34 percent), commercial-

industrial-mining self-supplied (7 percent), recreational-

landscape irrigation and domestic self-supplied (5 percent

each), and power generation (less than 1 percent). Agricultural

self-supplied accounted for 51 percent of fresh surface-water

withdrawals, followed by power generation (25 percent),

public supply (11 percent), recreational-landscape irrigation

(9 percent), and commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied

(4 percent). Power generation accounted for nearly all(99.8 percent) saline-water withdrawals.

Of the 18.80 million people who resided in Florida during

2010, 41 percent (7.68 million people) resided in the South

Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), 25 percent

each resided in the Southwest Florida Water Management

District (SWFWMD) and the St. Johns River Water Manage-

ment District (SJRWMD) (4.73 and 4.70 million people,

respectively), 7 percent (1.36 million people) resided in the

Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD),

and 2 percent (0.33 million people) resided in the Suwannee

River Water Management District (SRWMD). The largest

percentage of freshwater withdrawals was from the SFWMD

(47 percent), followed by the SJRWMD (21 percent),

SWFWMD (18 percent), NWFWMD (9 percent), and

SRWMD (5 percent).

Between 1950 and 2010, the population of Florida

increased by 16.03 million (580 percent), and the total water

withdrawals (fresh and saline) increased by 12,334 Mgal/d

(465 percent). More recently, total freshwater withdrawals

decreased by more than 1,792 Mgal/d (22 percent) between

2000 and 2010, while the population increased by 2.82 million

(18 percent), and total freshwater withdrawals decreased by

more than 474 Mgal/d (7 percent) between 2005 and 2010,

while the population increased by 0.88 million (8 percent).

The recent trend of decreases in freshwater withdrawals is aresult of increased rainfall during this period, the develop-

ment and use of alternative water sources, water conservation

efforts, more conservative regulations and mandates, changes

in economic conditions, and losses of irrigated lands. Fresh-

water withdrawals for public supply, agricultural self-supplied

use, and commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied use all

decreased between 2000 and 2010 and between 2005 and

2010, whereas freshwater withdrawals for domestic self-

supplied use, recreational-landscape irrigation use, and power

generation use either remained the same or changed slightly

during the decade.


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2 Water Withdrawals, Use, and Trends in Florida, 2010

The use of highly mineralized groundwater (referred to as

nonpotable water) as a source of drinking water has increased

in Florida. Nonpotable water use for public supply has

increased from nearly 2 Mgal/d in 1970 to about 165 Mgal/d

in 2010. Nonpotable water is either blended or treated to meet

drinking-water standards and is mostly used along the east

and west coasts of central and southern Florida. The use ofreclaimed wastewater increased from about 206 Mgal/d in

1986 to nearly 659 Mgal/d in 2010. More than three-quarters

(79 percent) of reclaimed wastewater in 2010 was used to

supplement potable-quality water withdrawals for urban irriga-

tion, agricultural irrigation, and industrial use.

Introduction

Water is among Floridas most valued resources. The

State has more than 1,700 streams and rivers, 7,800 freshwater

lakes, 700 springs, 11 million acres of wetlands, and under-

lying aquifers yielding substantial quantities of freshwater

necessary for human and environmental needs (Fernald and

Purdum, 1998). Although renewable, these water resources are

limited and continued growth in population, tourism, and agri-

culture will place increased demands on these water sources.

The population(bold print denotes that the term is

dened in the Glossary) of Florida totaled 18.80 million in

2010 (University of Florida, 2011), ranking fourth in the

Nation (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011a). This population repre-

sents an increase of about 580 percent from the 1950 popu-

lation of 2.77 million (Dietrich, 1978), and an 18 percent

increase from the 2000 population of 15.98 million (U.S.

Census Bureau, 2011a) (g. 1). Floridas population is pro-jected to reach nearly 20 million by 2015, and nearly 24 mil-

lion by 2030 (Smith and Rayer, 2012) (g. 1). In addition to

the States resident population, slightly more than 82 million

people visited Florida in 2010 (http://www.visitorida.com/

en-us/media/research.html). Freshwater will remain a vital

resource for Floridas residents and visitors, as population and

tourism continue to increase statewide.

The agricultural sector in Florida depends heavily on

the States water resources. In 2010, Florida produced nearly

two-thirds (63 percent) of the total citrus produced in the

United States and ranked thirteenth in the Nation in total

agricultural cash receipts (Florida Department of Agriculture

and Consumer Services, 2012). Agriculture employed nearly750,000 people in Florida and contributed about 100 billion

dollars to the State economy in 2010 (Florida Department of

Agriculture and Consumer Services, 2012). Agriculture is

expected to remain important because the States subtropical

climate fosters the cultivation and growth of a wide variety

of crops, and demands for locally produced food from the

growing population have remained constant. Accurate and

reliable information concerning the amount of water required

to support future agriculture is essential to the development of

the State economy and vital to the well-being of its residents

and visitors.

2020 2030

Population,

inm

illions

Year

Proje

cted

10

15

30

20

25

5

01950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Figure 1. Historical and projected population of

Accurate estimates of current water use and projected

trends in Florida are compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey

(USGS), in cooperation with the Florida Department of Envi-

ronmental Protection (FDEP), and in collaboration with the

Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD),

St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD),

South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), South-

west Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), and

Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD). This

coordinated effort provides the data and information needed to

estimate future water needs and plan future resource manage-ment in Florida.

Florida, 19502030. From Dietrich (1978), University

of Florida (2011), U.S. Census Bureau (2011a), and

Smith and Rayer (2012).

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to provide detailed

information about the quantities of water withdrawn in 2010 in

the State of Florida and increase understanding about water-

use trends between 1950 and 2010. Overall, the report pro-

vides a basis for summarizing water withdrawals, understand-

ing water use, and projecting future water needs. Water-use

estimates for Florida are presented in this report by category,

county, water source (surface and ground, including principalaquifers), and water management district (WMD).

Data are presented on water withdrawals in Florida for

each of the following water-use categories: public supply

(including deliveries), domestic self-supplied, commercial-

industrial-mining self-supplied, agricultural self-supplied

(including irrigation and nonirrigation uses), recreational-

landscape irrigation (including golf-course irrigation), and

power generation. Data are not presented for instream uses

(nonwithdrawal), such as hydroelectric power generation,

navigation, water-based recreation, propagation of sh and

wildlife, and dilution and conveyance of liquid or solid waste.


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Introduction 3

This report also does not include data on the amount of water

discharged from wastewater-treatment facilities, septic tanks,

or retention ponds.

Within each withdrawal category, data are presented by

source (ground or surface water) and, where sufcient data

are available, seasonal and historical patterns of water use

are described. Data also are presented by county and WMD(g. 2) for each water-use category. Additional information

about current or historical water use can be obtained by

contacting the USGS Florida Water Science Center ofces in

Lutz, Orlando, or Davie, or by visiting the USGS Web site at

http://.water.usgs.gov/infodata/wateruse.html.

Previous Investigations

This report is the eleventh in a series of reports

documenting the results of water-use investigations in Florida.

Statewide water-use data for Florida were published for 1965

and 1970 (Pride, 1973, 1975); for 1975, 1977, and 1980

(Leach, 1978, 1983; Leach and Healy, 1980); and for 1985,

1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 (Marella, 1988, 1992, 1999,

2004, 2009). These ten reports include assessments of all

water uses in Florida, by county, for the following categories:

public supply, domestic self-supplied, commercial-industrial-

mining self-supplied, agricultural self-supplied (including

irrigation and nonirrigation), recreational-landscape irriga-

tion, and power generation. Historical water-use data for

the State and each county for all freshwater withdrawals by

category between 1965 and 2010 are available from the USGS

Florida Water Science Center, Florida water-use Web site at

http://.water.usgs.gov/infodata/wateruse.html.

Prior to 1965, state water-use data were published onlyat the national level. Nationwide summaries of water-use

data were published for 1950, 1955, and 1960 (MacKichan,

1951, 1957; MacKichan and Kammerer, 1961). These reports

include detailed water-use data at the state level, but do

not include water-use data for counties. Nationwide sum-

maries, including data for Florida, also were published by

the USGS for 1965, 1970, and 1975 (Murray, 1968; Murray

and Reeves, 1972, 1977); for 1980, 1985, 1990, and 1995

(Solley and others, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998); for 2000 (Hut-

son and others, 2004); and for 2005 (Kenny and others,

2009). National and state data for 2010 and prior years are

available from the USGS national water-use Web site at

http://water.usgs.gov/watuse/.Additional water-use reports in Florida were published by

selected WMDs between 1975 and 2010. The SJRWMD and

SWFWMD have published annual water-use reports since the

late 1970s, and the NWFWMD, SFWMD, and SRWMD inter-

mittently published reports between 1976 and 1985. Detailed

water-use data for 2010 were published by Southwest Florida

Water Management District (2012), and a fact sheet summa-

rizing water use for 2010 was published by the St. Johns River

Water Management District (2011). Historical freshwater-

withdrawal data for each WMD between 1975 and 2010 are

available at the USGS Florida Water Science Center Web site

at http://.water.usgs.gov/infodata/wateruse.html. In addition,

a complete water-use bibliography for Florida is available at

this Web site.

Data Sources and Limitations

As part of the USGS National Water-Use InformationProgram, water-use data are collected and compiled for each

state every 5 years (Solley and others, 1988). Data for 2010

were collected under nationwide guidelines specied by the

USGS (Hutson, 2007). Data for each state are reported by

major water-use category and county; some states also report

by hydrologic unit (basin) and aquifer. Water-use data for

Florida were compiled through an ongoing cooperative pro-

gram with the FDEP as part of the 2010 USGS National Water

Cooperative Program. Data also were obtained from the FDEP

(Drinking Water and Wastewater Sections), NWFWMD,

SRWMD, SJRWMD, SFWMD, and SWFWMD, as well

as from various utilities, industries, and power companies.

Specic data sources for each water-use category or source are

listed below.

Public supplyData for public-supply withdrawals

were obtained from (1) consumptive water-use permit com-

pliance les or annual reports provided by the ve WMDs,

(2) the monthly operating reports (MORs) supplied to the

FDEP Drinking Water Program (http://www.dep.state..us/

water/drinkingwater/ow.htm), or (3) directly from the water

suppliers. Nearly all of the reported water-use values for this

category are from metered data.

Population-served estimates for the counties within

the NWFWMD, SFWMD, and SRWMD (g. 2) were made

at the county level using the statistical trend in previouspopulation-served totals from 1985 to 2005. The population-

served estimates were then compared to estimates produced

by each WMD from their most recent water-supply plans to

provide quality assurance. Estimates of the population served

by the SJRWMD and SWFWMD were made and published

by the respective WMDs (St. Johns River Water Management

District, 2011; Southwest Florida Water Management District,

2012). Published values for the SWFWMD were modied

to remove seasonal population estimates so that the county

values would then be consistent with those from counties

in the other four WMDs and represent the States resident

population.

Domestic self-suppliedDomestic self-suppliedpopulation estimates are derived by subtracting the county

population served by the public-supply systems from the

total county population. Domestic self-supplied withdrawals

for the counties in the NWFWMD, SFWMD, and SRWMD

(g. 2) were calculated by multiplying the 2010 statewide

public-supply domestic per capita use of 85 gallons per day

(gal/d) by the self-supplied population served for each county

(detailed in the Public Supply section). Withdrawal estimates

for the counties within the SJRWMD and SWFWMD were

calculated by the WMDs using the public-supply gross per

capita use or an adjusted per capita use rate (St. Johns River


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Hillsborough

River

Rice CreekDeer Point

Lake

AlafiaRiver

Tampa Bypass

Canal

Clear

Lake

Escambia

River

Selected water features

Northwest Florida Water

Management District

St. Johns River

Water Management

District

South Florida

Water Management

District

Southwest

Florida

Water

Management

District

Suwannee River Water

Management District

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

100 MILES25 50 750

25 100 KILOMETERS50 750

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80

Escambia

Tampa Bay

GULF OF MEXICO

Lake

Okeechobee

Florida Keys

Hillsborough

Brevard

Jeff

ers

on

Ok

alo

osa

Suwannee

Colu

mbia

Union

Flagler

Sumter

HighlandsSarasota

Okeechobee

Monroe

IndianRiver

Lee

Orange

Pasco

PinellasOsceola

Lake

Baker

Marion

Clay

Duval

Nassau

PutnamAlachua

SantaRosa

Walton

Holmes

Bay

Jackson

Gadsden

Gulf Franklin

Lib

erty

Wakulla

Leon Madison

Hamilton

Taylor

Dixie

Levy

Volusia

Citrus

Hernando

Seminole

Polk

Hardee

De Soto

St.Lucie

Martin

Manatee

Glades

Hendry Palm Beach

BrowardCollier

Miami-Dade

Charlotte

Washin

gton

Calh

oun

Lafayette Gilc

hris

t

Bra

dford

St.

Johns

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Figure 2. Counties and water management districts in Florida. From Fernald and Purdum (1998).


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Introduction 5

Water Management District, 2011; Southwest Florida Water

Management District, 2012). All water used for domestic

self-supply is assumed to be groundwater, and values for this

category are estimated.

Commercial-industrial-mining self-suppliedData for

commercial, industrial, and mining self-supplied withdrawals

were obtained from (1) consumptive water-use permit com-

pliance les or annual reports provided by the ve WMDs,

(2) the MORs supplied to the FDEP Drinking Water Program

(http://www.dep.state..us/water/drinkingwater/ow.htm), or

(3) from individual commercial-industrial-mining water users.

Not all users in this use category are required to have a WMD

consumptive water-use permit and often only have a general

water-use permit. Furthermore, not all of these permitted users

are required to submit annual withdrawal quantities as part of

their permit conditions to their respective WMD. In addition,

some industrial or mining water users are not required to

submit MORs to the FDEP either. Therefore, some users were

contacted directly for their withdrawal information. Nearly

all of the reported water-use values for this category are frommetered data.

Agricultural self-suppliedWater withdrawal estimates

for agriculture useare mostly a composite of (1) estimates

made by multiplying irrigated crop acreage by a calculated

net irrigation requirement(NIR) coefcient (often referred

to as an application rate), and (2) actual withdrawal totals

from metered data. The majority of this category is estimated,

because only a small percentage (12 percent) of the total

agricultural self-supplied water withdrawals presented in this

report were derived from metered data for 2010. Metered data

alone cannot provide a cumulative total because not all users

are metered and therefore estimates must be made in order to

aggregate withdrawal totals for any county or region.Irrigated crop acreage estimates were obtained by

the USGS or the WMDs from a variety of sources, which

include: (1) Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer

Services (FDACS) reports (Florida Department of Agriculture

and Consumer Services, 2012); (2) the National Agricul-

tural Statistics Service database (http://www.nass.usda.gov/

Statistics_by_State/Florida/index.asp); and (3) U.S. Depart-

ment of Agriculture (USDA) reports (2009, 2010, 2011a, b, c).

Other data sources used to validate reported irrigated crop

acreage include the WMD consumptive water-use permit les

or water-supply plans, personnel at the University of Florida

Institute of Food and Agriculture Science (IFAS), County

Extension Ofces (http://ifas.u.edu/), or county agents fromthe local USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service

(http://www..nrcs.usda.gov/).

The NIR coefcients calculated for crop production

represent the amount of water, in addition to rainfall, that must

be applied to meet the evapotranspiration(ET) needs for a

specic crop or crop type (Smajstrla and Zazueta, 1995). The

NIR coefcient does not include the water needed to over-

come irrigation system inefciencies and must be adjusted to

account for irrigation system losses (U.S. Soil Conservation

Service, 1982). Because few historical accounts of actual

water use for selected crops are available in Florida, several

numerical models are used to produce the NIR coefcient that

can be used to calculate water demands for selected crops. The

two most common models used by the WMDs are the USDA

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)statistical

regression method (U.S. Soil Conservation Service, 1970) and

the Agricultural Field Scale Irrigation Requirements Simula-

tion (AFSIRS), a computer simulation model based on a daily

water budget (Smajstrla, 1990; Smajstrla and Zazueta, 1995).

Each WMD uses some form of these methods or similar

models or programs that they have developed to estimate their

NIR coefcients, which are then used to calculate water with-

drawals for selected crops for any given period.

Water withdrawal estimates for the counties within

the NWFWMD and SRWMD (g. 2) were made by each

WMD using estimated irrigated crop acreage and an NIR

coefcient for selected crops based on climatic conditions.

The NWFWMD developed estimates of irrigated acreage by

crop and county based on data from consumptive water-use

permit les, USDA reports (U.S. Department of Agriculture,

2009, 2010, 2011a, b, c), information obtained from person-nel at selected IFAS county extension ofces, and a review of

recent aerial photography. The NIR coefcients developed for

selected crops within the NWFWMD were obtained from the

AFSIRS model (Smajstrla, 1990) using a 2-in-10 year return

interval, which best approximated the slightly below-average

rainfall conditions observed in the NWFWMD for the primary

growing period within the WMD during 2010 (Kathleen

Coates, Northwest Florida Water Management District, writ-

ten commun., 2013). The NIR coefcients for the SRWMD

were obtained by the WMD using the Florida Irrigation Guide

(U.S. Soil Conservation Service, 1982) in conjunction with

internal models based on average rainfall for a selected period

of record (Kevin Wright, Suwannee River Water ManagementDistrict, written commun., 2012).

Water withdrawal estimates for the counties within the

SJRWMD and SWFWMD were obtained directly from pub-

lished reports (St. Johns River Water Management District,

2011; Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2012).

Estimates for the counties within the SFWMD were obtained

from recently published or updated water-supply plans for

their four designated water supply planning areas, namely the

Lower East Coast (South Florida Water Management District,

2013), Lower West Coast (South Florida Water Management

District, 2012), Upper East Coast (South Florida Water Man-

agement District, 2011), and Kissimmee Basin (South Florida

Water Management District, 2009). Water withdrawal esti-mates for this category made by the SJRWMD, SFWMD, and

the SWFWMD are mostly derived by using a model to gener-

ate an irrigation requirement coefcient for selected crops and

multiplying that value by an estimated number of irrigated

acres. The SWFWMD did have metered data for selected areas

within their district, which reected about 65 percent of their

agricultural self-supplied water withdrawals in 2010 (South-

west Florida Water Management District, 2012). Detailed

information on how irrigation values were derived for these

three WMDs can be found in their published reports (cited

above) or on their respective Web sites.


16/72


Many assumptions were made by the USGS and some

of the WMDs for the 2010 agricultural self-supplied water

withdrawal estimates, including the following:

Statewide, 100 percent of the sugarcane acreage,

90 percent of the citrus acreage and 80 percent of the

vegetable acreage (cabbage/lettuce, cucumbers/pickles,

peppers, potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, and manyother small vegetables) was assumed to be irrigated,

with a few exceptions specic to selected vegetable or

fruit crops. In addition, 90 percent of the acreage for

non-citrus fruit crops (blueberries, grapes, peaches,

strawberries, and other fruit-bearing crops or trees),

sod, and nursery stock was assumed to be irrigated in

2010. The percentage of eld crop acreage (cotton,

eld corn, peanuts, soybeans, tobacco, rice, wheat, and

other eld-based crops) irrigated ranged from 20 to

100 percent, depending on the crop type and location

within the State, yielding an average of about 40 per-

cent of the total acreage for 2010. For grasses (pasture,

hay, and others) it was estimated that between 5 and10 percent of the total acreage was irrigated in 2010.

Many of these assumptions are based on the 2007 per-

centage irrigated for the specic or general crops found

in the 2007 Census of Agriculture (U.S. Department

of Agriculture, 2009, 2010, 2011a, b, c) and some of

these assumptions may vary among the WMDs.

The percentage of acres irrigated by the various irriga-

tion system types (food, micro, and sprinkler irriga-

tion) and the percentage of water sources used for irri-

gation (groundwater or surface water) were assumed

to reect the information obtained from the WMDs

consumptive water-use permits or other WMD sources.Some assumptions about irrigation systems or water

sources were veried by personnel at selected IFAS

county extension ofces or by local growers. In some

cases, percentages from previous years were used.

Rainfall for 2010 was deemed normal even though it

was above or below average in many areas of the State

(Florida State University, 2013).

Estimates for nonirrigation withdrawals, such as those

for livestock watering and sh farming, were made by the

USGS (Lovelace 2009a, b) and used for counties within the

NWFWMD, SFWMD, and SRWMD. Estimates for sh farm-

ing withdrawals were obtained from the WMDs consump-

tive water-use permits for counties within the NWFWMD,

SFWMD, and SRWMD. Livestock and sh farming with-

drawal estimates for the SWFWMD were obtained from their

2010 water-use report (Southwest Florida Water Management

District, 2012, app. A). No withdrawal estimates for livestock

were made or published for the parts of the counties within the

SJRWMD for 2010.

Recreational-landscape irrigationWater withdrawal

estimates for recreational-landscape useare mostly a

composite of (1) estimates made by multiplying irrigated

crop acreage by a calculated NIR coefcient, and (2) actual

withdrawal totals from metered data. Most of this category

is estimated, because only a small percentage (12 percent) of

the total recreational-landscape irrigation water withdrawals

presented in this report were derived from actual metered data

for 2010. Metered values cannot provide a cumulative total

because not all users are metered and therefore estimates must

be made in order to aggregate withdrawal totals for any countyor region.

Acreage data for recreational (primarily golf course)

and landscape irrigation (primarily commercial lawns and

common/public areas) were obtained by the WMDs from a

variety of sources, including their consumptive water-use

permit les or their local or regional water-supply plans. Golf

course acreage in some cases was calculated by using an

estimate of 4.5 acres irrigated per golf-course hole (Marella

and others, 1998) multiplied by the total number of such holes

in a given county, obtained from the National Golf Foundation

(2006). For many counties, the assumption was made that no

acreage changes for this category occurred between 2005 and

2010 for both golf courses and landscape irrigation acreage,and therefore the 2005 acreage values were used.

The NIR coefcients calculated for golf course and

landscape needs represent the amount of water, in addition to

rainfall, that must be applied to meet the turfgrass and other

landscape vegetation ET needs (Smajstrla and Zazueta, 1995).

The NIR coefcient does not include the water needed to

overcome irrigation system inefciencies and must be adjusted

to account for irrigation system losses (U.S. Soil Conserva-

tion Service, 1982). The two most common models used by

the WMDs are the USDA NRCS statistical regression method

(U.S. Soil Conservation Service, 1970) and the AFSIRS

computer simulation model. Each WMD uses some variationof these methods or similar models or programs that they have

developed to estimate the NIR coefcients they use to calcu-

late water withdrawals for golf course and landscape irrigation

for any given period.

Water withdrawal estimates for the counties within the

NWFWMD and SRWMD (g. 2) were made by each WMD

using irrigated acreage from previous years and an irrigation

requirement coefcient for golf course and landscape needs

based on climatic conditions. Acreage data for the NWFWMD

were veried against the consumptive water-use permits for

any changes (newly permitted or recently closed facilities)

between 2005 and 2010. The NIR coefcients developed by

the NWFWMD were obtained from the AFSIRS model (Sma-jstrla, 1990) using a 2-in-10 year return interval, which best

approximated the slightly below average rainfall conditions

observed in the NWFWMD for the golf course and landscape

growing periods within the district during 2010 (Kathleen

Coates, Northwest Florida Water Management District, writ-

ten commun., 2013). The NIR coefcients for the SRWMD

were obtained by the WMD using the Florida Irrigation Guide

(U.S. Soil Conservation Service, 1982) in conjunction with

internal models based on average rainfall for a selected period

of record (Kevin Wright, Suwannee River Water Management

District, written commun., 2012).


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Introduction 7

Recreational-landscape irrigation water withdrawal esti-

mates for the counties within the SJRWMD and SWFWMD

were obtained directly from published reports (St. Johns River

Water Management District, 2011; Southwest Florida Water

Management District, 2012) and reect information from their

consumptive water-use permits for this category. Recreational-

landscape irrigation water withdrawal estimates for the coun-ties within the SFWMD were obtained from recently pub-

lished or updated water-supply plans for their four designated

water-supply planning areas. Water withdrawal estimates

for this category made by the SJRWMD, SFWMD, and the

SWFWMD were also derived by using a model to generate

an NIR coefcient for turfgrass and landscape irrigation and

multiplying the coefcient by the estimated number of acres

irrigated. The SWFWMD did have metered data for selected

areas within their WMD, which reected about 79 percent of

their recreational-landscape irrigation water withdrawals in

2010 (Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2012).

Detailed information about how irrigation values were derived

for these three WMDs can be found in their published reports(cited above) or on their respective Web sites.

Several assumptions were made by the USGS and the

WMDs in developing the 2010 recreational-landscape irriga-

tion water withdrawal estimates, including the following:

One hundred (100) percent of all acreage was irrigated

by sprinkler systems, unless specic information to the

contrary was provided by the WMD.

The percentage of water sources used for recreational-

landscape irrigation (groundwater or surface water)

was assumed to reect information obtained from

WMD consumptive water-use permits or other WMD

sources.

Rainfall for 2010 was deemed normal even though it

was above or below average in many areas of the State

(Florida State University, 2013).

In addition, the amount of reclaimed wastewater

reported by the FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental

Protection, 2011a) used for golf-course irrigation in each

county was subtracted from the total water use calculated for

this category in each county.

Power generationWater withdrawals for power

generation usewere obtained by the USGS directly from the

many power companies and municipally owned public utilitiesin the State, including Florida Power and Light, Gainesville

Regional Utilities, Gulf Power, Jacksonville Electric Authority

(JEA), Lakeland Electric, Orlando Utilities Commission,

Progress Energy (Duke Energy as of 2012), Seminole Electric

Cooperative, City of Tallahassee, Tampa Electric Company,

and several others. Additional data were obtained from the

WMD consumptive water-use permit les or annual reports

and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database of

the U.S. Department of Energy (Susan Hutson, U.S. Geologi-

cal Survey, written commun., 2012). Withdrawal data were

collected for ground and surface water from fresh and saline

sources. In many cases, the withdrawal amount reported

represents the amount of water used to augment cooling

pondsor towers, or other water bodies that retain water for

cooling purposes, as opposed to the amount of water actually

withdrawn for once-through cooling. The amount of water

withdrawn to augment cooling water sources is often referred

to as the amount of water consumed or consumptive use.The amount of water recirculatedwithin a power plant is not

accounted for in this report. Information about the amount of

water purchased from public supplies was obtained from each

power generation facility (if available) along with the total

gross power generated. Most of the water-use values presented

for this category are from metered or recorded data maintained

by the power companies or public utilities.

Wastewater dischargesData for domestic, industrial,

and septic-tank wastewater discharges are not provided in

this report. Detailed wastewater discharge totals for 2010 are

available from the 2010 Florida Reuse Inventory, published

annually by the FDEP Domestic Wastewater Section (Florida

Department of Environmental Protection, 2011a; http://www.dep.state..us/water/reuse/inventory.htm).

Aquifer withdrawalsEstimates of water withdrawals by

aquifer were made for each withdrawal category. For public

supply, commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied, and

power generation, information for the primary aquifer used

for each well eld or facility was obtained from permits in the

WMD consumptive water-use permit les. Estimates were

made for domestic self-supplied, agricultural self-supplied,

and recreational-landscape irrigation withdrawals by using

information obtained from selected groundwater studies con-

ducted throughout the State over the past 20 years that yielded

detailed estimates of withdrawals for selected aquifers in

specic counties. Other sources include information obtained

from local agencies (county health departments and the

WMDs) that regulate well construction or consumptive use.

For some counties having little or no information, estimates

were made by assuming that 90 percent of water withdrawals

were from the primary aquifer used for public supply and the

remaining 10 percent were from the local water table or shal-

low aquifer.

AccuracyWater withdrawals and water-use data

presented in this report represent the average daily quantities

used, calculated from monthly totals or derived from annual

totals, and are expressed in million gallons per day (Mgal/d).

Water-use values presented in the tables are reported to twoplaces to the right of the decimal (with a few exceptions) or to

the nearest 10,000 gallons per day (gal/d). Water-use values

in the text are rounded to the nearest million gallons per day,

and percentages are rounded. Water-use data published in this

report may not be identical to the water-use data published by

the WMDs (St. Johns River Water Management District, 2011;

Southwest Florida Water Management District, 2012) or FDEP

because of differences in data-collection procedures, catego-

ries, and methodology. In addition, some values in this report

may differ from those presented on the USGS Web page prior

to the publication of this report.


18/72


Water-use values presented in this report reect the

amount of water withdrawn and do not represent quantities of

water permitted or allocated. The accuracy of water-use values

varies by category; public-supply, commercial-industrial-

mining self-supplied, and power generation values tend to be

more accurate than those for domestic self-supplied, agricul-

tural self-supplied, and recreation-landscape irrigation becauseusers in the rst group of categories usually meter and record

their usage, whereas users in the second group of categories

generally do not meter and record their water use. In 2010, a

small percentage of agricultural and recreational-landscape

users statewide did meter and record their usage.

ChangesA change in water-source classication

occurred between 2005 and 2010. Nonpotable groundwater

withdrawn and treated for public supply is classied as saline

waterby the USGS for 2010; however, in this report it will

remain classied as freshwater to be consistent with what

the WMDs report. In 2010, a small amount of surface water

was withdrawn for public supply from a saline source and is

reported herein as treated saline water. Additionally, monthlywithdrawal data for some categories were not available for

2010, and therefore were estimated.

Most water-use categories remained unchanged for

Florida between 1970 and 2010.Some changes that could

affect the descriptions of trends have occurred, including the

following:

During the 1970s, rural water use consisted of domestic

self-supplied and livestock. In the 1980s, livestock was

added to the agricultural category, and domestic self-

supplied became a separate category.

Agricultural self-supplied was called irrigation in the

1970s, and then became agricultural irrigation in the1980s with the addition of livestock and the removal of

recreational irrigation.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, agricultural water use

included all irrigation, including golf course and land-

scape watering, but in 1995, golf-course and other rec-

reational and landscape irrigation were removed from

the agricultural water-use category and placed within a

separate category called recreational irrigation.

For 2010, landscape was added to the recreational

irrigation category name, even though landscape acre-

age and withdrawals were included in the category inprevious years. The new name, recreation-landscape

irrigation, more accurately reects what is included in

this category for 2010.

Commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied was

previously called self-supplied industrial water use

(which included self-supplied commercial and min-

ing use), and power generation was previously called

thermoelectric power generation.

Miscellaneous water withdrawals and uses included in

county totals presented in the 1985 water-use report

(Marella, 1988) included water withdrawal estimates

for residential lawn irrigation, residential heat pumps

and air-conditioning units, and water discharged from

free-owing wells. Because of the inconsistency in

data among counties for these uses, they were notincluded in the 1985 statewide totals (Marella, 1988).

Since 1985, no attempts have been made by USGS

to collect or compile water withdrawal estimates for

residential lawn watering or residential heat pumps and

air-conditioning in Florida.

Data for Miami-Dade County prior to 2000 are

reported under Dade County. In 1997, Dade County

ofcially became Miami-Dade County, and all data

presented herein are listed under the new name. Polk

County, which was divided among three WMDs (SJR-

WMD, SFWMD, and SWFWMD), was re-delineated

into two WMDs in 2003, and the part of the countywithin the SJRWMD was ofcially relinquished to the

SWFWMD in 2004. Therefore, all data after 2003 for

Polk County reect totals for SFWMD and SWFWMD

only.

Water Withdrawals and Use

In 2010, the total water withdrawn in Florida was

estimated to be 14,988 Mgal/d (table 1). Saline water

accounted for 8,589 Mgal/d (57 percent) and freshwater

accounted for 6,399 Mgal/d (43 percent) of total waterwithdrawals in 2010 (g. 3). Groundwater accounted for

4,166 Mgal/d (65 percent) of freshwater withdrawals, and

surface water accounted for the remaining 2,233 Mgal/d

Fresh

surface water

15 percent

Saline

surface water

57 percent

Fresh

groundwater28 percent

Note: Saline groundwater was less than 0.1 percent

Figure 3. Total water withdrawals in Florida

by source, 2010.


19/72

Water Withdrawals and Use 9

Table 1. Total water withdrawals in Florida by category, 2010.

[Source: U.S. Geological Survey Florida Water Science Center (http://.water.usgs.gov/). All values in mill ion gallons per day]

Florida 2010Freshwater Saline water All water

Ground Surface Total Ground Surface Total Total

Public supply 2,012.17 238.68 2,250.85 0.00 16.97 16.97 2,267.82Domestic self-supplied 213.84 0.00 213.84 0.00 0.00 0.00 213.84

Commercial-industrial-mining

self-supplied

294.67 83.68 378.35 0.00 0.00 0.00 378.35

Agricultural self-supplied 1,413.91 1,137.19 2,551.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 2,551.10

Recreational-landscape irrigation 188.38 203.55 391.93 0.00 0.00 0.00 391.93

Power generation 43.48 569.71 613.19 6.54 8,565.52 8,572.06 9,185.25

Totals 4,166.45 2,232.81 6,399.26 6.54 8,582.49 8,589.03 14,988.29

(35 percent). Surface water accounted for nearly all(99.9 percent) saline-water withdrawals (table 1). An addi-

tional 659 Mgal/d of reclaimed wastewater was used in

Florida during 2010 (Florida Department of Environmental

Protection, 2011a). More than three-quarters (79 percent) of

the reclaimed wastewaterow in 2010 was used to reduce

potable-quality water withdrawals for urban irrigation (public-

access areas, including golf courses and residential lawns),

agricultural irrigation, and industrial use, and the remain-

ing 21 percent of the reclaimed wastewater was returned to

the hydrologic system as aquifer recharge (14 percent) and

wetland discharge (7 percent) (Florida Department of Environ-

mental Protection, 2011a).

The freshwater withdrawn in 2010 is equivalent involume to an estimated 2.5 inches of water cover across the

54,252 square miles of Florida land area (Fernald and Purdum,

1992) and to about 5 percent of the rainfall for 2010, which

averaged 49.2 inches statewide (Florida State University,

2013). The relative importance of freshwater withdrawals

within a local or regional water budget can vary temporally

and spatially.

Overall, agricultural self-supplied was the largest user of

freshwater in 2010, accounting for 40 percent of total fresh-

water withdrawals, followed by public supply at 35 percent

(g. 4 and table 1). For fresh groundwater withdrawal, public

supply (48 percent) and agricultural self-supplied (34 percent)

were the largest users in 2010, followed by commercial-

industrial-mining self-supplied (7 percent), domestic self-

supplied and recreational-landscape irrigation (5 percent

each), and power generation (1 percent) (g. 4 and table 1).

For fresh surface water withdrawals, agricultural self-sup-

plied (51 percent) was the largest user in 2010, followed by

power generation (25 percent), public supply (11 percent),

recreational-landscape irrigation (9 percent), and commercial-

industrial-mining self-supplied (4 percent) (g. 4 and table 1).

Power generation accounted for nearly all (99.8 percent) of the

saline-water withdrawals in 2010.

Water withdrawals varied seasonally for some water-usecategories in 2010. Monthly withdrawals for agricultural

self-supplied use varied more than any other category in

2010 (g. 5); almost one-third (32 percent) of the annual

withdrawals for this category occurred in April and May. The

seasonality is a result of intense crop production during these

2 months, which are normally dry across the State. Public

supply withdrawals show minimal seasonal variation in 2010

(g. 5), even though water withdrawals for lawn watering and

other outdoor uses are affected by the typically dry spring and

hot summer months.

Freshwater withdrawals were greatest in Palm Beach

County (707 Mgal/d), and saline water withdrawals were

greatest in Hillsborough County (1,715 Mgal/d) (table 2). Sub-

stantial withdrawals (more than 200 Mgal/d) of fresh ground-

water were made in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Polk, Orange,

Broward, and Collier Counties. Substantial withdrawals (more

than 200 Mgal/d) of fresh surface water occurred in Palm

Beach, Hendry, and Escambia Counties.

Water Source and Use by Category

Florida consistently has been one of the largest users of

groundwater in the Nation over the past decade (Hutson and

others, 2004; Kenny and others, 2009). Fresh groundwater

is available throughout the State and generally needs little

or no treatment prior to use. Overall, groundwater sources

provided drinking water to 92 percent of Floridas population

(17.33 million people) from public-water supply systems and

private domestic (household) wells.

Groundwater withdrawals in Florida for 2010 totaled

4,173 Mgal/d, of which 4,166 was freshwater and almost

7 Mgal/d was saline water (table 1). Of the fresh groundwater

withdrawn, 148 Mgal/d (4 percent) was nonpotableand was

either blended or treated to meet potable(drinking water)

standards. This nonpotable water is considered brackishor


20/72


Agriculturalself-supplied,

40 percent

Note: Groundwater withdrawals for

power generation accounted forabout 1 percent.

Public supply,

48 percent

Domestic

self-supplied,

5 percent

Commercial-industrial-

mining self-supplied,

7 percent

Agricultural

self-supplied,

34 percent

Recreational-landscape

irrigation, 5 percent Public supply, 11 percent

Commercial-

industrial-mining

self-supplied,

4 percent

Agricultural self-supplied,

51 percent

Recreational-

landscapeirrigation,

9 percent

Power generation,

25 percent

Public supply,

35 percent

Domestic

self-supplied,

3 percent

Commercial-industrial-mining

self-supplied, 6 percent

Recreational-landscape

irrigation, 6 percent

Power generation, 10 percent

Groundwater,

65 percent

Surface

water,

35 percent

Total freshwater

Figure 4. Freshwater withdrawals in Florida by category and water source, 2010.

may qualify as saline water at times. About 2,571 Mgal/d

(almost 62 percent) of the groundwater withdrawn in 2010

was from the Floridan aquifer system (g. 6 and table 3),

which includes nearly 110 Mgal/d of brackish or saline

groundwater. Orange and Polk Counties were the largest

users of water from the Floridan aquifer system (table 3). The

Floridan aquifer system, which underlies the entire State, is

not the only source of groundwater throughout the State; in

many areas of Florida other local aquifers can provide good

quality groundwater (g. 6). The Biscayne aquifer supplied

705 Mgal/d (17 percent) of the groundwater withdrawn, and

the remaining 21 percent was obtained from the surcial

aquifer system (525 Mgal/d), the intermediate aquifer

system (263 Mgal/d), and the sand and gravel aquifer system

(109 Mgal/d) (g. 6 and table 3). The sand and gravel aquifer

system is part of the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system that is

present in Alabama, western Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi

and Texas (Miller, 1990; Renken, 1998). The surcial aquifer

system are primarily tapped by private domestic wells or by

public-supply wells in areas where the Floridan aquifer system

is nonpotable or is too deep to be tapped economically.


21/72


0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

January February March April May June August September October November DecemberJuly

Month

Freshwaterwithdrawals,

inmilliongallo

nsperday

Commercial-industrial-miningself-supplied and power generation

Public supply

Agriculturalself-supplied

Figure 5. Monthly freshwater withdrawals by selected categories in Florida, 2010.

Saline surface water is abundant within the numerous

coastal rivers and bays of Florida along its nearly 1,200-mile

coastline (Fernald and Purdum, 1992), whereas fresh surface

water is available throughout most of the State from rivers,

lakes, or managed and maintained canal systems. A large

percentage of all fresh surface water in Florida is considered

nonpotable, however, and usually needs treatment of some sort

for uses other than irrigation or cooling. Fresh surface water

only provided drinking water to 8 percent of Floridas popula-

tion (1.47 million people) from public-water supply systems in

2010.

Surface-water withdrawals in Florida totaled10,815 Mgal/d (table 1). Saline surface water accounted

for 8,582 Mgal/d (79 percent) and freshwater accounted for

2,233 Mgal/d (21 percent) of the total surface-water with-

drawals in 2010. Nearly all saline withdrawals (99.8 percent)

are used for once-through cooling water and are usually

returned to the source. Fresh surface water in Florida is

primarily used for irrigation and power generation, which

together composed more than three-quarters (76 percent)

of the fresh surface water withdrawn in 2010 (g. 4 and

table 1). Nearly all saline-water withdrawals in Florida are for

power generation and were used as cooling water for genera-

tion of about 50 percent of the States total electric powerin 2010. The majority of fresh surface-water withdrawals

(56 percent) occurred in the southern Florida hydrologic unit

subregion (HUC0309) (g. 7), which is associated with Lake

Okeechobee and the canals in the Everglades Agricultural

Area of Glades, Hendry, and Palm Beach Counties, as well as

the Caloosahatchee River and its tributaries in the agricultural

areas of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee Counties

(g. 7). Surface water from these sources is most often

diverted through canals or ditches and then pumped or gravity-

fed onto elds or citrus groves for various ood irrigation

systems. Throughout Florida, a large percentage of the surface

water used for ood or seepage irrigation in elds or groves

is not consumed and as such is pumped back into the canals

or ditches whence it came for further use. In addition, many

of the canals, ditches, or ponds that are used for ood irriga-

tion throughout Florida often are augmented with groundwater

from free-owing or pumped wells to help maintain their

water levels.

Public Supply

The public-supply category refers to water distributedby a publicly or privately owned water system. Florida had

1,725 community, 869 nontransient noncommunity, and

2,940 transient noncommunityactive water systems in 2010

(Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 2011b).

For this report, water-use data were collected for commu-

nity water systemsthat either served at least 400 people or

withdrew at least 10,000 gal/d (0.01 Mgal/d). Water with-

drawals from the inventoried systems totaled 2,268 Mgal/d

and supplied water to nearly 90 percent (16.89 million) of the

States 18.80 million residents in 2010 (table 4). The invento-

ried systems represent more than 99.8 percent of total public-

supply withdrawals in 2010; the estimated withdrawals by the

uninventoried systems total about 5 Mgal/d (about 600 unin-

ventoried systems multiplied by 0.009 Mgal/d) and would be

accounted for under the domestic self-supplied category. The

public-supply category also does not include public-water sys-

tems that serve other transient populations such as correctional

institutions, schools, and military facilities because these are

included in the commercial-industrial-mining self-supplied

category for this report. The nontransient noncommunity and

transient noncommunity water systems include churches, res-

taurants, theme parks, and others that provide drinking water

to a nonpermanent population.


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Table 2. Total water withdrawals in Florida by county, 2010.

[Source: U.S. Geological Survey Florida Water Science Center (http:// .water.usgs.gov/). All values in million gallons per day]

CountyGroundwater Surface water Total water

Fresh Saline Total Fresh Saline Total Fresh Saline Total

Alachua 53.68 0.00 53.68 0.55 0.00 0.55 54.23 0.00 54.23

Baker 5.22 0.00 5.22 0.20 0.00 0.20 5.42 0.00 5.42

Bay 8.23 0.00 8.23 47.17 246.06 293.23 55.40 246.06 301.46

Bradford 5.33 0.00 5.33 0.04 0.00 0.04 5.37 0.00 5.37

Brevard 72.04 0.00 72.04 42.73 142.01 184.74 114.77 142.01 256.78

Broward 250.96 0.00 250.96 23.84 1,005.82 1,029.66 274.80 1,005.82 1,280.62

Calhoun 3.90 0.00 3.90 0.21 0.00 0.21 4.11 0.00 4.11

Charlotte 21.36 0.00 21.36 37.47 0.00 37.47 58.83 0.00 58.83

Citrus 33.42 0.00 33.42 0.36 1,167.39 1,167.75 33.78 1,167.39 1,201.17

Clay 20.72 0.00 20.72 2.94 0.00 2.94 23.66 0.00 23.66

Collier 211.61 0.00 211.61 45.64 0.00 45.64 257.25 0.00 257.25

Columbia 13.74 0.00 13.74 0.15 0.00 0.15 13.89 0.00 13.89

DeSoto 73.87 0.00 73.87 23.51 0.00 23.51 97.38 0.00 97.38

Dixie 4.57 0.00 4.57 0.02 0.00 0.02 4.59 0.00 4.59

Duval 154.92 0.00 154.92 6.61 598.60 605.21 161.53 598.60 760.13

Escambia 80.78 0.00 80.78 233.06 0.00 233.06 313.84 0.00 313.84

Flagler 21.26 0.00 21.26 2.16 0.00 2.16 23.42 0.00 23.42

Franklin 2.02 0.00 2.02 0.28 0.00 0.28 2.30 0.00 2.30

Gadsden 11.35 0.00 11.35 7.03 0.00 7.03 18.38 0.00 18.38

Gilchrist 9.22 0.00 9.22 0.07 0.00 0.07 9.29 0.00 9.29

Glades 40.57 0.00 40.57 121.78 0.00 121.78 162.35 0.00 162.35

Gulf 1.36 0.00 1.36 1.30 0.00 1.30 2.66 0.00 2.66

Hamilton 37.41 0.00 37.41 0.08 0.00 0.08 37.49 0.00 37.49

Hardee 53.64 0.00 53.64 0.07 0.00 0.07 53.71 0.00 53.71

Hendry 111.06 0.00 111.06 313.24 0.00 313.24 424.30 0.00 424.30

Hernando 38.40 0.00 38.40 0.41 0.00 0.41 38.81 0.00 38.81

Highlands 93.85 0.00 93.85 14.01 0.00 14.01 107.86 0.00 107.86

Hillsborough 151.25 0.00 151.25 94.82 1,715.32 1,810.14 246.07 1,715.32 1,961.39

Holmes 4.36 0.00 4.36 0.14 0.00 0.14 4.50 0.00 4.50

Indian River 57.28 0.00 57.28 85.26 11.97 97.23 142.54 11.97 154.51

Jackson 23.63 0.00 23.63 40.69 0.00 40.69 64.32 0.00 64.32

Jefferson 7.39 0.00 7.39 0.14 0.00 0.14 7.53 0.00 7.53

Lafayette 6.62 0.00 6.62 0.05 0.00 0.05 6.67 0.00 6.67Lake 92.60 0.00 92.60 12.43 0.00 12.43 105.03 0.00 105.03

Lee 130.53 0.00 130.53 55.70 560.62 616.32 186.23 560.62 746.85

Leon 36.86 0.00 36.86 0.74 0.00 0.74 37.60 0.00 37.60

Levy 31.94 0.00 31.94 0.62 0.00 0.62 32.56 0.00 32.56

Liberty 1.70 0.00 1.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.70 0.00 1.70

Madison 13.93 0.00 13.93 0.13 0.00 0.13 14.06 0.00 14.06

Manatee 98.65 0.00 98.65 27.85 0.00 27.85 126.50 0.00 126.50

Marion 69.18 0.00 69.18 2.09 0.00 2.09 71.27 0.00 71.27

Martin 29.58 0.00 29.58 71.69 0.00 71.69 101.27 0.00 101.27


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Table 2. Total water withdrawals in Florida by county, 2010.Continued

[Source: U.S. Geological Survey Florida Water Science Center (http:// .water.usgs.gov/). All values in million gallons per day]

CountyGroundwater Surface water Total water

Fresh Saline Total Fresh Saline Total Fresh Saline Total

Miami-Dade 429.96 4.98 434.94 26.15 0.00 26.15 456.11 4.98 461.09

Monroe 0.75 0.00 0.75 0.45 0.00 0.45 1.20 0.00 1.20

Nassau 49.28 0.00 49.28 1.21 0.00 1.21 50.49 0.00 50.49

Okaloosa 28.55 0.00 28.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 28.55 0.00 28.55

Okeechobee 48.36 0.00 48.36 13.89 0.00 13.89 62.25 0.00 62.25

Orange 249.43 0.00 249.43 8.18 0.00 8.18 257.61 0.00 257.61

Osceola 91.06 0.00 91.06 6.94 0.00 6.94 98.00 0.00 98.00

Palm Beach 257.96 0.00 257.96 448.88 0.00 448.88 706.84 0.00 706.84

Pasco 94.28 0.00 94.28 0.97 1,563.67 1,564.64 95.25 1,563.67 1,658.92

Pinellas 19.59 0.00 19.59 0.91 472.46 473.37 20.50 472.46 492.96

Polk 251.51 0.00 251.51 47.28 0.00 47.28 298.79 0.00 298.79

Putnam 30.51 0.00 30.51 44.20 0.00 44.20 74.71 0.00 74.71

St. Johns 39.34 0.00 39.34 4.84 0.00 4.84 44.18 0.00 44.18

St. Lucie 41.29 1.56 42.85 59.95 1,098.57 1,158.52 101.24 1,100.13 1,201.37

Santa Rosa 25.54 0.00 25.54 0.98 0.00 0.98 26.52 0.00 26.52

Sarasota 28.45 0.00 28.45 2.82 0.00 2.82 31.27 0.00 31.27

Seminole 67.75 0.00 67.75 1.39 0.00 1.39 69.14 0.00 69.14

Sumter 31.65 0.00 31.65 0.35 0.00 0.35 32.00 0.00 32.00

Suwannee 30.00 0.00 30.00 108.34 0.00 108.34 138.34 0.00 138.34

Taylor 42.87 0.00 42.87 0.03 0.00 0.03 42.90 0.00 42.90

Union 3.12 0.00 3.12 0.01 0.00 0.01 3.13 0.00 3.13

Volusia 92.31 0.00 92.31 136.94 0.00 136.94 229.25 0.00 229.25

Wakulla 5.48 0.00 5.48 0.26 0.00 0.26 5.74 0.00 5.74

Walton 13.39 0.00 13.39 0.49 0.00 0.49 13.88 0.00 13.88

Washington 4.03 0.00 4.03 0.07 0.00 0.07 4.10 0.00 4.10

State totals 4,166.45 6.54 4,172.99 2,232.81 8,582.49 10,815.30 6,399.26 8,589.03 14,988.29

Groundwater supplied 2,012 Mgal/d (89 percent) of

the public-supply water withdrawn in 2010 and provided

drinking water to 15.42 million people. The Floridan aquifer

system supplied nearly 56 percent (1,110 Mgal/d) of the

total public-supply groundwater withdrawals and served an

estimated 8.97 million people, whereas the Biscayne aquifersupplied 29 percent (594 Mgal/d) of the total public-supply

groundwater withdrawals and served 4.40 million people.

The remaining groundwater withdrawn for public supply was

obtained from the surcial aquifer system (226 Mgal/d), the

sand and gravel aquifer system (57 Mgal/d), and the inter-

mediate aquifer system (25 Mgal/d). Surface water supplied

nearly 256 Mgal/d (11 percent) of the public-supply water

withdrawn in 2010 and provided drinking water to 1.47 mil-

lion people. Of the surface water withdrawn, nearly 17 Mgal/d

was saline water and was treated through a desalination

process for public-supply use (Tampa Bay Water, 2013). The

Hillsborough River, Tampa Bypass Canal, and the Alaa River

in Hillsborough County combined supplied 39 percent of the

total surface water for public supply (Southwest Florida Water

Management District, 2012), followed by Deer Point Lake

in Bay County (21 percent), and Clear Lake in Palm Beach

County (13 percent) (water features shown in g. 2). Severalpublic-supply water systems in Florida that withdraw surface

water also augment their water supply with groundwater,

usually during periods of high demand or low surface-water

levels. In addition, several water suppliers inject and store the

excess surface water that becomes available during the wet

season into a deep aquifer and then recover it during the dry

season, if needed, to help offset peak demands (Reese, 2006).

Values for the amount of water injected into groundwater

sources for aquifer storage and recovery systems are not pre-

sented in this report.


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EXPLANATION

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80

LAKE

OKEECHOBEE

100 MILES25 50 750


Sand and gravel aquifer system (partof the Coastal Lowlands aquifer)

Floridan aquifer system

Surficial aquifer systemand intermediate aquifersystemUndifferentiated

Biscayne aquifer

ATLANTIC

OCEANG

ULF

OFMEXIC

O

Floridan

aquifer

system

Biscayne

aquifer

Surficial

aquifer

system

Intermediate

aquifer

system

Sand and

gravel aquifer

system

2,500

3,000

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

0

Groundwaterwithdrawals,

inmilliongallonsperday

2010

Figure 6. Approximate areal extent throughout which principal aquifers in Florida are the primary source of

groundwater, and quantity of groundwater withdrawals, 2010. From Vecchioli and Foose (1985), Miller (1990),

and Renken (1998).

Public-supply water withdrawals varied minimally by

season in 2010, with a range of about 300 Mgal/d between

minimum and maximum withdrawals (g. 5). Withdrawalspeaked during the months of May, June, and July in 2010 as

demand for outdoor water uses, primarily for lawn irrigation,

increased. The seasonal variation in public-supply withdrawals

is often much greater during years of low rainfall compared to

other years (Verdi and others, 2006).

Public suppliers deliver water for domestic use

(residential use), commercial use, industrial use, pub-

lic uses(including losses from processing to distribution),

and other uses. Domestic water use, which includes indoor

and outdoor residential uses, accounted for 63 percent

(1,430 Mgal/d) of the public-supply withdrawals in 2010

(g. 8 and table 5). Domestic water use was derived from

the residual of the total public-supply net water use in each

county (withdrawals plus imports or minus exports) minusthe commercial, industrial, public uses, and other uses. Water

deliveries to commercial and industrial users from public sup-

ply were estimated by multiplying county employment totals

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011b) by a water-use coefcient based

on average water use per employee (Davis and others, 1988)

for various commercial and industrial employment sectors

(Bucca and Marella, 1992). Deliveries of public-supply water

to commercial (22 percent) and industrial (3 percent) users

in 2010 totaled 558 Mgal/d (490 Mgal/d for commercial and

68 Mgal/d for industrial users) (g. 8 and table 5). Public uses

include water used for reghting and system maintenance,


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Everglades

Agricultural

Area

Choctawhatchee-

Escambia

0314

Apalachicola

0313

Ochlockonee

0312

Altamaha-St. Mary's

0307

St. Johns

0308

Suwannee

0311

Peace-

Tampa Bay

0310

Southern

Florida

0309

0314

Region Subregion

Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)

(The state of Florida is in Region 03)

Subregion boundary

EXPLANATION

ALABAMA

GEORGIA

ATL

ANTIC

OCEAN

GULF OFMEXICO

Indian

River

St. Johns

River

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

87 86 85 84 83 82 81 80

Escambia

River

Anclote

River

100 MILES25 50 750


Lake

Okeechobee

Crystal

River

Tampa Bay

0307 0308 0309 0310

Hydrologic unit subregions

031403120311 0313

250

750

1,250

2,250

1,750

0

Groundwater

Surface water

500

1,000

1,500

2,500

2,000

F

reshwaterwithdrawals,

inmilliongallonsperday

2010

EXPLANATION

Caloosaha t

chee Ri v

er

Figure 7. General location of hydrologic units in Florida and fresh groundwater and surface-water

withdrawals within these units, 2010. From U.S. Geological Survey (1975), and Seaber and others (1984).

as well as all losses. For Florida, public uses were estimated

at 1 percent (American Water Works Association, 1992) and

losses were estimated at 10 percent (Friedman and Heaney,2009). Combined public uses and losses totaled 11 percent,

or 256 Mgal/d, of the total public-supply withdrawals in 2010

(g. 8 and table 5). Losses include water lost during transmis-

sion and distribution, as well as losses that occur during water

processing such as desalination or water softening. In previous

years, losses were estimated at 14 percent (Marella, 2009),

but water management permitting during the past 10 years has

required that public-supply water systems lower their distri-

bution losses to between 10 and 12 percent (Friedman and

Heaney, 2009). Other uses include deliveries to a host of users

not included in the commercial or industrial use category.

These deliveries include direct metered uses for irrigation (for

residential, commercial, and recreational), construction, parks,

city common areas (including medians), augmenting air-conditioning cooling reservoirs, power generation, and other

deliveries that do not fall within a specic category.

The statewide gross per capita water use for public

supply in Florida was 134 gal/d in 2010 (g. 9 and table 5).

This value is calculated as the total public-supply water

withdrawal (2,268 Mgal/d) divided by the total population

served by public supply (16.89 million). Per capita water use

calculated in this manner includes water delivered for all uses

of public-supply water, as shown in table 5 (domestic, com-

mercial, industrial, public uses and losses, and other uses).

Floridas public-supply domestic per capita water use for


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Table 3. Total groundwater withdrawals by principal aquifer in Florida by county, 2010.

[Source: U.S. Geological Survey Florida Water Science Center (http://.water.usgs.gov/). All values in mil lion gallons per day]

CountyFloridanaquifersystem

Biscayneaquifer

Surficialaquifersystem

Intermediateaquifersystem

Sand and gravelaquifersystem

Total

Alachua 53.64 0.00

FL Water Use_2010 USGS

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